The tip had come in from one of Annie's friends, who had seen her go into the Laughing Fox on more than one occasion with groups of women and groups of men. Women didn't usually go into bars, unless they were involved in some kind of prostitution ring, or were being held there against their will, so her friend had gotten in contact with the police out of concern. They police had then done some surveillance, found out the true nature of the pub, and that was what led to the arrest of its members.

And that was what led to all of them being stuck in holding cells at the county courthouse.

Since there were so many of them, many of them shared the cells that were available, cells that were only designed to hold one or two people at maximum were now holding four or five. Thanks be to God, Levi was in the same cell Eren was, along with Jean and Marco. The others were nearby, and even if he couldn't see all of them, he could hear them well enough. But when they tried to call out to them, or talk to them, they were silenced with a whack to the bars on their doors.

Levi was not ashamed to say that he spent much of the days pressed close to Eren, absolutely frightened out of his mind. He had never been in trouble in his life, whereas Eren at least had witnessed raids like this before, even if he hadn't been caught up in them.

"It's going to be okay," Eren reassured him, rubbing a hand up and down his back. "Just remember, when you've got connections like my family has and you're rich, you can often make these problems go away if you pay enough."

"I think this time's different, Eren," Jean said on the other side of the tiny cell. He was holding Marco close to him as well in a mirror image of what Eren was doing. "This raid isn't anything like those other ones. That was the most amount of police officers I've ever seen at a raid, and from what I've been hearing, we're the largest amount of inverts they've ever found in one place. This has been going on for so long that I think they're going to come down hard on us."

Still, Eren didn't seem to be phased. He just shrugged. "So? It's not like the old days. They won't put us to death. We'll just go to jail for a couple years. We're young and tough, we can handle it."

"But before you told me going to the jail here was pretty much a death sentence," Levi piped up.

Jean and Marco stared at both of them in open shock, and they could feel the tension in the room go up. They were pretty sure that the others might have heard them too, as it was pretty quiet at the moment. Eren would have to think carefully on how he answered this.

"I'm only going off of what I've heard," he said slowly. "I've never actually been inside the prison before. We're different though. We're not criminals in that sense. We have good families, we're strong, we can handle a couple of years. Most of the people who die in there get sick, and I haven't gotten seriously sick since I was a little kid."

"…I suppose I haven't either," Levi added thoughtfully. "Nothing worse than a cold or a stomach flu."

"See? We'll be fine. The prison here keeps all of its prisoners separated from each other anyway, so if we're not in contact with each other, we won't get sick."

Levi supposed he liked the sound of that too. If all the prisoners couldn't interact with each other, then there would be less chance of him getting hurt. Still…

"I'd rather avoid going to prison if I can," Levi said, laying his head on Eren's shoulder. "I'm so close to getting my book published…I don't want to jeopardize that or its success in any way."

"Are you kidding?" Marco told him. "Books written by felons sell like crazy. People want to know what kind of messed up things people like us have to say. This is actually a good marketing strategy. It'll add a layer of intrigue to your writing."

Levi snorted, even more so when Eren added, "He's right. People will be more curious about Levi Ackerman the sodomite's book than Levi Ackerman the librarian."

"If you guys say so."

They spent three days like that, passing the time as best they could. Sleep was very hard to come by, especially since there were only two beds, and two small beds at that. More like severely uncomfortable cots that Levi couldn't get comfortable no matter how hard he tried. And while the food wasn't horrible, he had had better, and there certainly could be more of it. When he asked for some more the guard had promptly told him off.

"You're lucky you're getting this much with the sudden high volume we have of you lot in here," he had said. "If you ask me we shouldn't be wasting even this much food on people like you."

Levi flinched. Though he was grumpy and crass many times, he didn't like it when people didn't like him, and especially didn't like appearing as anything less than a good person. Yes, he knew he had been doing something wrong, but they hadn't hurt anybody in the process. He had flinched away, and retreated with his ration, Eren glaring at the guard in response.

Three days since they had been arrested had passed, and all of them were much more tired and cranky than usual. Eren snapped at anyone who even came close to him, while Levi was much quieter and subdued. Listening to his partner and Jean argue was getting old, that was for sure. But after three days, they were told that their trial was going to be held. Each person would be tried individually, which meant that this was going to take a very long time.

But in the meantime, they were going to be moved to a small jail over the course of their trial, which meant a bit more space, and Levi prayed that he would be able to stay with Eren. His boy had been keeping him sane throughout this whole ordeal, holding him close, sharing his cot with him so that he'd stay warm, joking with him about the total lack of privacy as they were forced to piss and shit in front of their friends every day, and how Levi had been so sick that first day because he just could not force himself to shit in front of everyone. It had all just been miserable.

The older man couldn't but think to himself though that thankfully Hanji and Petra had not been present that day. Hopefully they would stay far away from this whole mess and lay low for a while, or at least act as normally as possible. He couldn't bear it if something happened so that the two of them would end up in here too. Oh lord, if Hanji's secret was exposed, she'd be ruined forever, and everything she had worked so hard for would be gone just like that.

Not that Levi didn't still share those fears about his own situation, despite what his friends had said.

When they were moved to the jail, to his horror, Levi saw that he wasn't going to be placed with Eren, or anyone for that matter. They were keeping him and everyone else by themselves. After the door was shut behind him, he rushed back towards it, practically pressing his nose between the bars, craning his neck and searching frantically for his boy.

"Eren!" he called out. "Eren, answer me!"

"You shut up!" a strange voice admonished him, but he paid it no mind. Fear was dictating his actions, not reason.

Luckily, Eren also didn't seem to care about the guard's rules, because he heard his voice calling back, "I'm down here, Levi! Just stay calm, it'll be okay."

Oh God, he was so far away, at least six cells down, if he had to guess. Levi's heart shoved itself in his throat. He didn't know if he could stay sane until their trial started. He had been relatively okay when he had been stuck in a cell with three other people, despite his complaints. At least he had been able to huddle up in Eren's lap whenever someone frightened him or hide his face in his shoulder like a child hiding away from the world in his mother's skirt.

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" Levi asked, in spite of the guard that was now charging towards his door.

"No, I'm alright, are you?" Eren reassured him.

Before he could answer, the older man yipped as his knuckles were smacked by the butt of the gun the guard was carrying where they were holding the iron bars. He pulled his hands back and rubbed them, holding them against his chest and retreating further into his cell to get away from him.

"Levi!" his partner cried out when he heard his sound of pain. "What happened, are you- hey back off! Don't touch me. You hit me with that and I'll shove it up your ass!"

Levi didn't dare answer him, the punishment enough to subdue him again, despite listening to the scuffle going on down the hall as no doubt another guard was attempting to silence Eren as well. Well, Levi wished them luck, because they would need it. Once Eren was fired up, whether he was angry or happy, nothing in the world would shut him up, not even if they beat him within an inch of his life.

His boy was such an idiot.

Levi hated that he received very little new while stuck in that cell. His pretty clothes that Eren had so lovingly bought for him were replaced with standard prison uniforms. When they had taken away the watch Eren gave him, he had thrown the biggest fit, nearly breaking their fingers. Luckily, they hadn't taken away his ring because it was hidden under his clothes. If they tried to take that he really would have broken their fingers.

At the moment, the passage of time was only marked by one or two windows to the outside where he got to see the sunlight filtering down, the times at which their meals came, and when his body told him he had to use the bathroom. He filled his days by pacing in his tiny cell, and chancing trying to talk to Eren, or their other friends, just to keep himself sane. Just hearing Eren's voice for a minute or two at a time helped, it really did. It let him know he wasn't alone.

But one night, when everyone had gone to bed, he finally received better news from his boy.

"I got a letter from Mikasa," Eren whispered loudly, and down the quiet, empty hallway the sound carried pretty well. "She said she's going to visit us both soon. Our trial is going to be held at the end of the month, so just in a couple weeks. Anything we needed, she said she'd help us with."

Mikasa was visiting, huh? That was…actually a good thing. Levi had been trying to devise a plan on how he could get himself and Eren out of this situation with their reputations intact. Though, if he was being realistic, at this point it was a little too late for that. The most they could hope for was to be found not guilty. But he figured that would be impossible, considering.

Just the other day, they had some doctors come in and examine them, most likely looking for evidence on the sodomy charges. It had been one of the most embarrassing moments in Levi's life, having to strip down in front of the guards, who were standing there to make sure he didn't run away, and bend over to this doctor could examine his genitals and anus for signs if they had been "used" recently. With Levi, they hadn't really found any evidence though. He asked Eren if they had found anything with him, and he said that yes, they had. "Small cuts and bites and evidence of past use," as he had put it.

Levi slapped a hand against his forehead at that. Of course…the last time they had been together, which hadn't been that long ago, he had been the one to penetrate Eren, so he hadn't had a chance to heal. Not that he had been rough, but sometimes one could be as gentle as possible and still accidentally hurt their partner.

Ugh, this was a disaster. Now they had proof with Eren, and who knows how many of the others, that there had been sodomy. They had interviewed some of them as well, trying to figure out the relationships between them. He didn't know who, but some of them had cracked and given up who the couples were in the group. But it didn't matter who had cracked, because he couldn't blame them. When Levi had refused to speak, at one point the guard had threatened to slam his head against the wall, and only intervention from another guard had stopped it.

Everyone was against them and they were just trying to protect themselves, trying to make it so that something worse wouldn't happen to them.

But hearing the results of Eren's medical exam struck Levi with sudden inspiration over dinner one night. He literally dropped his spoon on his tray and stared at the opposite wall in shock. Oh, it was a horrendous idea, one that actually made him feel sick to think about, threatening to send his dinner right back up his throat. It made him feel hot and prickly inside, and his heart rate skyrocketed. No, he couldn't do that. He just couldn't. He was so concerned about being seen as a good person, trying so hard to make these people think that he was a law abiding citizen that wouldn't hurt anyone. And it was the truth. But the more he thought about it, the more he could see it being the only way. They were going to lose either way, he and Eren. They were going to be found guilty and sent to prison along with their friends.

But by doing this, there might be a way to at least ensure Eren's freedom, even if he couldn't ensure his own.

Levi sighed deeply. He had often thought about this sort of thing before when he questioned how deeply meshed he was in his relationship with Eren. How far would he go to help him? But now when he was actually faced with the reality of it, he was glad to see that he hadn't been lying to himself, that he really would sacrifice everything for his boy. It was so easy to do so, too easy.

He laughed darkly to himself. It was a good thing this hadn't happened earlier, honestly. This way, he and Eren had been able to spend more time together and make more happy memories.

Yet, he wasn't going to be able to do this on his own. He would need outside help, and Mikasa would be perfect.

When she arrived, he was actually a bit surprised that she bothered to visit him; he honestly thought she would just be there to visit her brother. He was thinking he was going to have to call her over and pass her a note or something. Levi listened to them talking for a while, though he couldn't make out what they were saying; just that they were talking in low tones.

So he was quite happy when he heard her shoes clicking down the stone hallway and stopping in front of his door.

"Mikasa!" he gasped with relief, leaping up from his cot and going over to the door to stand in front of her. "Oh thank goodness. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Before she could answer, she took in his appearance, and scrunched up her nose a bit, taken aback. "Oh heavens," she finally said. "Well, Eren told me to check on you for myself since he hasn't seen you in over a week. Says he hasn't been able to talk to you much either, so he's beside himself with worry for you. And you um…well, you've looked better."

Levi snorted, shaking his head. "I'm sure I have. This is what happens when you aren't allowed to shower and don't get any good sleep. Plus, everyone looks terrible in prison uniforms."

She breathed what might have been a laugh through her nose. Then, she added in a lower voice, "No, seriously, are you alright? After this I'm going back to Eren and telling him how you are. If I don't he'll tear my head off."

He sighed. "I'd be better if he were here with me."

"He said the same thing when I asked him that question."

They stood there in awkward silence for a second, not knowing what else to say. So, Levi decided to ask, "Do you have any updates? On how serious the case is?"

She looked him in the eye when she said, "I don't know much, but I've been told it's pretty serious. You'll all be tried individually but they'll have a couple of you in the room at a time to try and speed up the process. I guess they're going to try the people who they were told were couples together. So that means you and Eren are going to be tried at the same time. Father, Benjamin and I are trying to do what we can to get you guys out, or at least to reduce the charges, but it's a slow process. I know Christa's father is paying out the nose to get her out. Can't have the precious Reiss family name tainted by any scandals. As far as I know, she's going to get out alright. So is Erwin and Armin, since Erwin is obscenely rich. For the others…I guess we'll see what happens. But since Eren has been going to the club for so many years…it's not going to be easy."

She gave him a slightly dirty look, and Levi knew exactly what she was thinking. He smiled sadly, and said, "I know. Trust me, I've been sitting here thinking to myself how this is my fault. If I hadn't said yes when Eren asked me if I liked him, none of this would have happened. If only I could have been strong enough to say no."

He looked so torn up, so genuine, that Mikasa couldn't help but sigh heavily, and knew she had to comfort him. "Now…stop, this isn't your fault. Not at all. Though I don't understand it all the way, I know that no matter what, nothing gets in the way of love. It would have been cruel to lie to him like that, especially when I can see just how much you care about him. Besides, he just told me how long he's lived this lifestyle, and how he was the one who introduced you to it. He was the one who got you comfortable with being a mollie. So no, if anything, it's Eren's I suppose, if we were to place blame anywhere. But that's absurd."

Levi scrubbed at his face. He couldn't believe her, no matter how much he wanted to. He was just too upset with himself. So, he said, "Either way, Eren has done so much for me, so now it's time for me to do something for him. I have to fix this mess, and I think I know how to get him out of here, scot free."

Mikasa looked surprised, blinking at him in disbelief. "And how do you plan to do that? The cops are itching to persecute the both of you."

He leaned in closer to her, whispering conspiratorially, "Listen closely. It's going to take you, me, and maybe even Grisha, to work together. Because even though we're all very different people with different views, we all want the same thing: for Eren to be happy and to live a long, full life free of scandal. I want him to be safe, and to have no trouble selling his art someday. I want him to get rich off doing it and stop doing things that make him so miserable. No matter what happens to me, Eren will be saved."

Her eyes widened, though since he was so close he couldn't see it. Her skin crawled, not liking where this was going. She wanted to speak up, to say if anything happened to Levi then Eren would go on a rampage. But she kept her mouth shut, because he was right. They both wanted to save her brother, and since she had absolutely no ideas on how to do that, she was willing to listen to anything he had to say.

So, Levi took a deep breath, and began, "So I was thinking…"

000

When the day of Eren and Levi's trial came, Mikasa entered the courtroom, resigned. Her head was held high, and she paid no mind to the whispers that followed her in when she took her seat near the witness stand, as she knew she was going to have to go up there sometime before this was over. Still, she heard them clear as day.

"That's the sister of one of these gal-boys…"

"She had to know, didn't she?"

"I wonder if she's like him, an invert."

"No, I heard she's married."

"So were almost all of these mollies. Her brother was too. Obviously it doesn't mean anything to them."

"Bunch of adulterous sodomite sinners. They shouldn't have abolished the law that hangs them for this kind of behavior."

"I have a tree tall enough in my backyard. Give them to me and I'll do what the law is incapable of doing."

Mikasa closed her eyes tightly, trying to hide the pain at their ugly words. However, of course, her husband, who had spent more time with her than most lately, saw the change in her demeanor, and reached over, taking her hand in his. She squeezed it back, thanking him silently for his support.

"It's going to be okay," he reassured her. "Levi told you it would be. His plan will work."

"I know, I just…" she sighed, "I can't believe he'd be willing to go that far. He really does love my brother. I never realized that until now. I feel like by doing this I'm breaking them up myself, and it's not fair."

"I know. I can understand why you feel that way. But he wants this, and he wants to save Eren as much as you do."

Mikasa believed he was sincere, but it didn't erase her guilt. She would just be happier when this was over.

When the judge came in a couple minutes later, they all rose at his command, and sat down when he said so. Thankfully, Levi was up to be tried first, so she knew it would be easier to pull this off. It was still hard to see him standing up there, going from the beautiful young man that had captured Eren's attention so thoroughly to looking more like a homeless transient. He was dirty, skinnier, and his eyes looked exhausted and haunted. He shivered as he stood up there, looking like he'd very much rather be anywhere else, particularly somewhere warm. Even worse was the pitifully desperate look on Eren's face as he gazed upon him. Her brother didn't look any better off, but it didn't seem like that mattered to him at all. All he could see was Levi, and it was clear from the wide-eyed shock on his face followed up by the crumpling of his expression, that all he wanted to do was leap out of his chair and pull him into his arms. He looked like he wanted to shield him from all the stares and whispers that were being directed towards them. His fingers straightened and curled compulsively against his thighs as he fought the itch to reach up and touch him. He was so close, and yet so far away. It was horribly frustrating, and he looked miserable.

He looked like he wanted for this to all be a horrible nightmare as much as Mikasa did.

Even when the proceedings began, Eren's gaze never seemed to waver from Levi, and Levi spared glances for him. The look in his eyes was deeply sad every single time, and whether that was from his boy's bedraggled state or something else, she didn't know. Both of them seemed to be completely out of it, just wishing this could be over and done with.

When it came time to enter a plea on the charges of sodomy for Levi, to Eren's utter shock, he stated, "Guilty," in a completely emotionless voice.

"And on what grounds are you pleading guilty?" the judge asked Levi.

There was a moment of silence, and then the small, unassuming young man said, "Because, as I'm sure you can tell from the medical exam Mr. Jaeger underwent, he had been penetrated recently. That was from me. I forced myself on him, and I've doing so for a long time."

There were a couple of gasps that rose up from the jurors and onlookers, but no one gasped as loudly as Eren did. He stood up abruptly from his seat, and his defense attorney, who was sitting next to him, actually had to tell him to sit back down. The boy looked absolutely horrified, and since he wasn't allowed to speak out of turn, he did the talking with his eyes, pleading with Levi to tell him what he thought he was doing. But Levi wasn't facing him, so he couldn't see his expression. Even if he could, he wouldn't be able to give him an answer. Not now. So, he sat back down , but didn't take his eyes off his partner, his heart hammering in his chest.

That was when Eren's lawyer got up and began asking for clarification. "You forced yourself on him? For how long?"

"For over a year," Levi answered, his voice still devoid of emotion.

"And what compelled you to do so?"

"I'm an invert. Have been for many years. We met during a party a couple summers ago, and I found that I fancied him quite a bit. I thought he'd make an easy target that wouldn't speak out against me since he's mentally unwell."

"Mentally unwell? How?"

Levi swallowed. These lies tasted horrible, but it would mean Eren's freedom. Eren had sacrificed enough for him by getting married so that Levi could have a roof over his head, to keep living in the manner he had become accustomed to, and so that he could remain close to the man he cherished, to the man he depended on for love, for warmth, and for safety during the dark he was terrified of. He spent so much money on him taking him wherever Levi wanted to go, even said he'd spend more of his hard earned money on a home for the two of them, and once again said he'd fill the house with whatever he wanted.

"I'm going to fill that house with special things," Eren had told him, "so that even on rainy days, I can make you smile. You'll never have another unhappy day again, I'll make sure of it."

It was too much for him. He couldn't handle it then, and he still couldn't handle it. He felt that he was too impure for a soul like Eren. Man or woman, he deserved someone much better than him. He had given him more physically and emotionally than any person should ever have to give another person.

So it was time to return the favor.

"His mother passed away when he was young," Levi explained solemnly. "She had a history of hysterical episodes, including a time when she tried to climb up out of the chimney in the Jaeger mansion. Eren has inherited similar behaviors, falling into deep depressions and moments of psychosis. Since he isn't all mentally there, it was easy to take advantage of him. I have to say, I enjoyed it."

"You enjoyed it?" Eren's lawyer turned towards the judge, and said, "Your honor, do you really need to hear anything else? I rest my case."

The judge hummed, and said, "Call your next witness."

So, he did so, calling Mikasa up to the stand. She sat down primly, only glancing briefly at her brother. His eyes were worried, like he was terrified of what she was going to say. She had to look away, for she wouldn't be able to bear what he would say or do in response to how she was going to answer these questions.

After the standard asking of what her name was and how she knew Eren, his lawyer asked her, "So if I understand correctly, you and Mr. Ackerman conversed outside his cell about a week before this trial started, yes? What did you two speak about?"

"He told me just what he told you now," Mikasa answered stonily. "He confessed everything to me." Not a total lie. He relayed the story they were going to go with so that they could save Eren, and how she would answer these questions.

"I see. And is it true that he has a history of hysterics because his mother does as well?"

"Yes. He's been like this for years. His mother leaving broke him to the point where he could barely function. I'd say that Mr. Ackerman was correct about that fact. It would have made him easy prey for anyone that wanted to take advantage of him."

"Hmm…no further questions your honor."

Shaking, she walked back to her seat, feeling sick. She sat down next to Benjamin, and he squeezed her hand tightly. Mikasa could feel Eren's eyes burning into her, but she couldn't meet them, too afraid of what she'd see there. And that was probably for the best.

Because if she looked, she would see unadulterated fury.

There was only one more witness that was spoken to, and that was Eren's father. He was now fully caught up, presented with evidence that he couldn't deny once and for all that his son was an invert. He was so angered by this knowledge that he had no trouble agreeing with everything Mikasa and Levi were saying, not caring if it was true or not. It was what he wanted to believe.

So, he played along, just as Levi and Mikasa wanted him to.

When he was sent back to his seat, it was time for the jury to decide his fate. There were no witnesses to call on Levi's behalf; Hanji wasn't there at the proceedings. But he didn't feel sad over it, because he would rather her stay home and be safe. Plus, he didn't want her to see him like this.

The jury deliberated for only an hour, an hour full of horrible tension in which Eren tried his hardest to get Levi's attention. But the older man ignored him, even though it killed him to do so. He didn't want to break down and take his words back. For his boy's sake, he had to remain strong.

It had seemed so much easier in his cell when he proposed this plan.

When the jury came back, everyone's hearts were in their throats, whether it was pleading for him to be set free or for him to be locked up and the key thrown away. At the moment, Levi didn't care what happened to him.

He hated that he had been driven to this.

Levi didn't look at them as they filed in and delivered their verdict, for he already knew what they would say. He couldn't bear to look anywhere but his own lap, so he wouldn't have to see the heartbreak or relief on anyone's face when that single word rang out.

"Guilty."